Palmer Alaska & Getting There...

ahschneid
12 minutes ago
6 min read

We had decided to leave Valdez a couple of days early to stop in Copper Center to fish the Klutina River for salmon. We stayed two nights at Klutina Salmon Charters and Campground. The day we arrived, the campground hosted an ice cream social at 7pm. We met a nice couple, Ray and Marge, from Minnesota. They'd stayed at this campground before about 8 years ago. They commented about how much lower the water is this year.

Our campsite backed right up to the water and we fished the evening we arrived. We waded through the water to get to an island in the river. The first day of fishing, we were trying to get the casting down and by the end of our time there we both had a better feel for the "flossing" kind of fishing we were doing. On Wednesday morning we found a spot by the bridge (not far from our campground) and fished for a few hours. Unfortunately, neither of us felt anything like a bite so we called it quits. We hung around the campsite that afternoon and just relaxed.

The morning we were leaving, our next door neighbor told us that people were catching salmon at midnight and later. She said they assumed it was too hot during the day. We were sleeping well by midnight.

Road from Valdez to Copper Center 17 June 2025

Trans Alaska Pipeline

Road from Valdez to Copper Center 17 June 2025

Road from Valdez to Copper Center 17 June 2025

Rest Area

Road from Valdez to Copper Center 17 June 2025

Rest Area

Mile 101 on Old Richardson Hwy 17 June 2025

Mile 101 on Old Richardson Hwy 17 June 2025

Behind our campsite 17-18 June 2025

The next morning (Thursday 19 June 2025) we headed to Palmer with a couple of stops along the way. We first stopped at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center. This was a good stop to stretch our legs and see what we could of these massive mountains. We were there at the same time about three tour buses were, so we sort of made our way through there quickly. We did watch the park's film before the buses arrived.

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center 19 June 2025

Our next stop was for lunch at the Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site. We ate at a picnic table overlooking the glacier and then took the 1 mile nature walk. We are enjoying the days of shorter drives with stops affording opportunities for walking.

Driving Richardson Hwy between Copper Valley and Palmer Alaska 19 June 2025

Eureka Summit

Driving Richardson Hwy between Copper Valley and Palmer Alaska 19 June 2025

Eureka Summit

Driving Richardson Hwy between Copper Valley and Palmer Alaska 19 June 2025

Rest Area

Driving Richardson Hwy between Copper Valley and Palmer Alaska 19 June 2025

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site 19 June 2025

Nature Walk

We arrived at the KOA Palmer/Anchorage Campground on 19 June 2025 for five nights. Being near bigger cities was a chance to take care of errands, so we spent our time in Palmer doing just that. The night we arrived, we grocery shopped in Wasilla at the Walmart there. Steve got a prescription filled in Wasilla and we got our mail in Anchorage on Friday. Steve also got his hair cut in Wasilla. With our next stop being iffy for Internet, we paid bills online and took care of anything else online that needed to be done.

We found traffic to be heavy when we were out and about on Friday 20 June. The Summer Solstice is a really big deal here with it being a state holiday. They don't get many sunny summer days, I understand.

Earthquake Park Anchorage Alaska 20 June 2025

We attended mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wasilla at 5pm on Saturday. After dinner we had a campfire and invited our new neighbors, Jim and Cheryl, to join us. They are from Oklahoma and this is their third trip to Alaska in 30 years. We all got a chill around 9:30pm and called it a night. They were leaving Sunday morning and we saw them on our way out. Their destination (Talkeetna) had changed due to wildfires having their road closed. We've been amazed listening to local weather news saying there have been 44,000 lightening strikes since the beginning of this year. Most, if not all, of the wildfires are caused by lightening strikes.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church Wasilla Alaska 21 June 2025

Sacred Heart Catholic Church Wasilla Alaska 21 June 2025

Sacred Heart Catholic Church Wasilla Alaska 21 June 2025

Sunday 22 June 2025 we went to Hatcher Pass just outside of Palmer. The drive was breathtaking and we did a couple of short hikes to total 4 miles by the end of our day. We got our first steps at Independence Mine State Historical Park. We walked around the grounds and took a trail trying to get to the highest building, but we ended up turning around after we came to too much snow. We actually didn't see anyone up at that particular building.

We had our lunch at Archangel Road and Trail. We then went to the Gold Mint Trailhead at Hatcher Pass. This is an 18 mile trail which we were not ready for, but we walked 1 mile out and back, and it was perfect.

On our way home, we fueled up our truck for the drive to Seward Tuesday. Monday is for doing laundry and getting last odds and ends done before we go.